The room burst into laughter.
Not cruel laughter—at least, not intentionally—but the kind edged with disbelief, the kind that comes when a joke lands at someone else’s expense.
At the center of it all stood Lucas Rivera, a thin twelve-year-old boy wearing a faded hoodie that was clearly too small for him. His sneakers were worn down at the soles, the kind that told a story before he ever spoke.
